The Silver Flags: A Story of Redemption
by Andrew And Tony
Summary: Dante used to be a proud member of The Silver Flags, a small guild in the world of Sword Art Online. However after a startling betrayal, he finds himself very much alone in a very large world. Now, after earning a powerful Unique Ability and the concern of a certain fiery blacksmith, he must discover if he intends to let go of the past, or let it consume him. R&R please & thanks!
1. One White Knight

_Five throwing knives left.. I knew I should have stocked back up in Lindas. _

Dante's mind flashed back to Lindas. The light air, bright sky, the cobblestone road. The road that led him right by the blacksmith's shop. His mind flashed again, this time to the blacksmith inside. Bubblegum hair, rosy, freckled cheeks. The shining ivory smile.

"DANTE SWITCH"

He was back in reality. Well, virtual reality. A much less forgiving and happy virtual reality than the one his mind had slipped to. A dim, cold dungeon surrounded him. His emerald eyes readjusted to the Ruined Skeletal Warrior in front of him. Quickly hooking three of his throwing knives, he pulled them back and took aim. He felt the accompanying charge of power well up in his hand, the iridescent green glow lighting up the dark cave walls. Dante smirked.

Three knives flew, three knives hit. The skeleton's arms pulled off from their shoulders, the third knife hitting squarely in the chest. Dante and Alastair watched as the undead warrior dispersed into a collection of fractals, the all-too familiar sound of shattering glass echoing off the walls. He quickly turned and located the second Skeleton Warrior, which he found to be charging at him with a two-handed broadsword.

Dante quickly turned and released his last two knives at the walking corpse. One knife hit hit each arm, and they both collapsed to the ground with a shatter. Dante then pulled up his inventory menu, and equipped his hatchet. Lunging forward, he pulled the axe back. The room turned a vibrant shade of red as Dante brought the weapon crashing down the skull of the skeleton. Two twitches, then shattering rang out again.

Alastair sighed, then sheathed his sword on his hip mount. Dante quickly noted how frustrated he looked. Both of their HP bars began fading from golden-yellow to lime green.

"Dante, we can't keep taking these sorts of risks. We're not a guild anymore. We don't have the support that we used to." Alastair's voice was heavy and worn. Light brown, spiky hair sat on top of his square head. His cool, cloudy grey eyes gave his otherwise bulky, daunting physique a calming nature. The fact that Dante had not once in a year-and-a-half in Aincrad seen his friend so emotional was worrisome.

"Well, I didn't ask you to come. You said you didn't want me playing solo in the upper level dungeons anymore. I never asked for help" Dante spat back. The words were meant to hurt, but Alastair's face was stoic. It was the same, expressionless face that had kept Dante sane for 17 months. Alastair took in a breath, then let it go.

"And that's the truth. You've been getting reckless. You've been spending your time constantly getting drunk in Algade and or obsessing over that little blacksmith down in Lin-"

"Her name is Lisbeth"

"How would you know? Not once have you talked to the girl! You constantly run down to that little town to do little errands and yet you've never even stepped foot in the shop. You've killed the same field boss outside of that town no less than twelve times now. You're running, Dante, and you know it. You're running away from everything that happened"

Dante's emerald eyes gleamed in the dark of the tunnel.

"Don't say another word."

Alastair began, but then stopped himself. The frustrated face returned. He rubbed his brow, then turned.

"Look, the point is that I can't keep chaperoning you. I'm a member of the Knights of the Blood Oath now. I can't keep running off every time you decide you're going to throw your life away. You should just join us, I can put in a good word for you. Heathcliff and Asuna are fantastic commanders, and they'll find a way to utilize your… skill set." Alastair put his helmet on, muffling his already gruff voice. Dante finished collecting his loot, then dawned again his white cloak. He looked at Alastair one more time, then walked past him to the tunnel exit.

"I'm in a guild. It doesn't matter if everyone else in it is dead"

* * *

Dante ran his hands through his thick, chocolate hair. Walking into the town plaza, he saw groups of people huddled together. Some looked happy, some looked serious. There was laughter, strategizing, gossiping, reminiscing, flirting and even some heated banter. But despite the cacophony of a thousand individual spirling universes around him, Dante stood out. They looked at him as he passed, and he suddenly became the topic of conversation.

This is not because Dante wore an all white hooded cloak on top of his silver armor sleeveless armor. Not because of his piercing green eyes or the scar placed underneath his left one. It was not the runed axe that hung loosely to his side, nor the obscure guild emblem on the back of his cloak. No. Dante was very much aware of why he was looked at. He heard the whispers.

"Look, it's the One White Knight!"

"Isn't he the dual-wielding solo player on the frontlines?"

"No, you idiot, that's the Black Swordsman. This is the One White Knight. I hear he's just as powerful though..."

"What's that guild emblem on his back?"

"I don't know... I've never heard of him to be in any guild. He's a solo player; he's always been a solo player."

Dante tuned out the words, but he was quite aware why the eyes of the entire 54th Floor Plaza were upon him. It was the same story everywhere he went. Everyone seemed to know everything about him except the full truth. The words whipped like wildfire around him, spreading to the point that the crowd lost interest in ambiguity. Dante was fully aware of the effect he had on people. And he knew why. It's not just that he was a solo player.

Dante was very much alone.

Not just the kind of alone that made you feel sorry. It was more like complete singularity. A kind of loneliness that radiated off of him. A black hole that pulled away at the fabric of security that many of the Sword Art Online players had built up in their two years of forced tranquility. Dante wasn't just alone, he was bitter.

_One White Knight… That's a new one. Better than "The lone wanderer" or whatever the hell they called me last time I came through here._

He finally stood up on the teleport plaza. As he turned around, all eyes came unglued. They went back to their own universes, laughing, joking, talking and acting as though they'd never missed a beat.

Dante was used to the routine. He sighed, and took the hood off of his head.

"Teleport: Lindas!"

The plaza flashed blue, and he was gone.

* * *

Lindas was dark by the time Dante reached it. Pale orange lantern light overhead cast his shadow on the cobblestone. Lost in his thoughts, he wandered town. Alastair. The guild. One White Knight. The Real World. They swam in his mind altogether, mingling in and out of one another, lapping then overlapping until he crossed the bridge midway through town.

His mind flashed to another time. Smiling. Laughing. One of those people in his own little universe, where everything was always orbiting exactly where it should be. He remembered seeing Alastair even crack a smile. These were happier times. All their white coats with silver armor, hand smithed by Dante himself. He took great pride in having been selected as the micro-guild's blacksmith, even though he was clearly the best smith of the group.

As he made his way to the blacksmith shop, he could even hear the voices of his guild members jeering...

"_You should just go talk to her instead of looking through the window like an awkward creep" Jacob joked._

_Dante's face began to show traces of pink. Ezekiel, a fellow guild member, chimed in cheerily after Jacob._

"_Awwh, your face is gonna match her hair now Dante! It's perfect, true love!"_

"_SHUT UP ZEKE!" Dante's face flushed outright red. Jacob and Ezekiel took turn pretending to swoon over each other, reciting lines of shakespearean verse and professing their undying feelings for one another. _

"_You cheeky shits…" He muttered to himself. He looked over to Alastair, whose cooling demeanor spread to Dante's cheeks. He felt the anger slowly, assuredly subside within him. Alastair walked over._

"_Look man, its pretty simple. You're a blacksmith, she's a blacksmith. Both of you are good at what you do. We do business with her all the time. I've even been in a raiding party with her. She's sweet and easy going. You've got plenty to talk about and nothing to worry about"_

_Dante looked again, and saw Alastair giving one of his patented "I believe in you" smiles. Dante nodded, taking a step towards the shop. He could feel his stomach tighten, the footstep landing hard and heavy. It was as if someone had tied a stone to each of his legs. Compared to this, surviving the "Death Game" that was SAO seemed like a simple game of "Go Fish." _

_He stopped there though, as an orange message notification popped up on the corner of his display. It was from Geoffrey. _

_ "Looks like your brother came through for us, Dante." Zeke called, reading the message under his breath. Dante opened the message and read it. The writing "style" of his brother was a distinctly familiar sight to him. He scanned through it:_

_**Silver Flags Guildmembers,**_

_** Managed to convince some poor group of losers to trade us all their stuff for all that crap Jacob promised would come in handy later but never did. What a bunch of asshats. It's some pretty nice loot, too. I'm down on Floor 38 in the ruins of the Sun Temple just southwest of the teleport plaza. Get your asses down here so we can decide what to do with this stuff. -Geoff**_

_Dante looked up at Alastair. His eyes darted over the page three or four more times before lifting off the message. _

"_You heard the man. Let's get down there." Alastair said slowly. Dante thought he heard just a trace of doubt in his guild leader's voice, but dismissed it. As he walked up Alastair, Dante felt a hand on his shoulder stop him. Alastair, looked him dead in the eye, the emotionless face bearing down into Dante. A bead of sweat slipped down his brow, and then Alastair's perpetual scowl broke into an almost-smile. _

"_When we get back, you're going to talk to her, alright?" Dante looked, smiled, and then nodded._

Dante's smile had seldom come back since that day. But as he stood, looking at the blacksmith's shop from right outside, he couldn't help but feeling nostalgic. He could almost feel the butterflies reenter his stomach. The nervous pinch of excitement. Her pink hair, soft and light like cotton candy. Her freckles, dotting the landscape of her facial features. Her voice, sweet like honey, he could almost hear it now…

"Uhm. Hello… Who are you and what are you doing outside my shop at 2AM?"


	2. Two Blacksmiths

Dante spun around, eyes wide open. His face flushed a brilliant shade of magenta. He looked at the young blacksmith that had confronted him, a purely puzzled Lisbeth looking back. Her brow furrowed, a slight frown forming.

"Well? What are you doing here?" Her tone was turning confrontational. Dante started to speak, then realized he had no logical explanation for being here at this hour. Well, not one that saved face, anyways. Her expression was becoming more and more skeptical as his was becoming more and more frazzled.

"I uh.. I'm here to-" _God what am I doing here "_-see if I could.. uhm-"_ Talk to you? Say hello? Introduce myself? _"-purchase a sword!" _DAMMIT WHY DID I SAY THAT IT DOESN'T EVEN MAKE SENSE IT'S TWO IN THE DAMN MORNING. _Dante's exclamation was followed by a long, loud silence. His eye twitched, and the weight of Aincrad crashed down on him. His face was very near tomato red. He closed his eyes and sighed. _I'm an idiot I'm an idiot I'm an idiot I'm an idiot. _

And then, there was laughter. His eyes opened to a doubled over Liz, cackling away. Dante glared blankly. He didn't exactly know how she was going to react, though this certainly wasn't it. She looked up at him, words squeezing out between fits of laughter.

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard!" She stood up straight, still giggling a bit.

Dante grimaced. Flinging his hand to cover his burning face, he took a step back towards the bridge. _This was stupid, _he thought to himself. As he turned, he felt a tug on his cloak. Looking back, there stood Liz with a firm grasp on his white hood and an endearing smile on her face. Dante's mind was scrambled, and his attempts at words made that apparent.

"Well," Liz began with a sly smirk, "I may not know why you're lurking around outside my shop, but if you're really here to buy a sword then I guess you're a customer!"

Dante's shocked emerald eyes widened.

"And if you're a customer, then I guess I can't turn you down!" Her smirk slipped into a wider business smile. She proceeded to the door, and tapped on the display menu that popped up. After punching in a password combination, she opened the door and stepped inside with the door left open behind her.

Dante stared hard at the open door. _This cannot be real life. There's no way this is happening. I'm drunk. I'm dreaming. I'm dead. _

"Are you coming in or not?"

Wide eyes settled into a wide smile. _Well… it's a pleasant dream at least._

Dante walked into Lisbeth's Blacksmith shop, and closed the door behind him.

"What kind of sword are you looking for?" She asked, a somewhat playful tone in her voice. Dante was completely aware that Liz was completely aware that he was a complete liar. But if only to prolong their first documented interaction, Dante felt inclined to play along.

"Uhh.. something light. Like a long dagger, or possibly a one handed short sword? A rapier even would do.I'm not crazy about bulk." Dante said, browsing the walls decked with weapons. _This is a lot of very fine weapons, a few even exoctic looking ones, _he thought,_ She's an even better smith than I was told. _

"Well, I've got more than a few blades that I've forged using Speed-Type metals. Check this one out, I call it my Maste-," She stopped, the playful voice dropping away. Dante looked up at the main desk to see Liz grasping at an empty peg on the wall. Her hand fell slowly to her side, her chin tucking into her chest. Dante walked up to the counter.

"Uhm.. Are you okay?" He asked gingerly. As she turned quickly towards him, Dante thought for just a moment that he saw a tear forming in her eye. But once facing him, she gave a nervous laugh and flashed a bright smile.

"Of course! I just remembered something from the other day. How about something like this?" She briskly walked past him, avoiding his eyes. Dante recognized the maneuver. He'd executed it countless times before. Curious, he followed her to a rack in the corner of the room.

"This one is the first sword I forged after opening the shop! It's called the Luminaria. Completely one-of-a-kind, it's forged using three different kinds of Speed-Type metal!" She turned it towards him and held the blade out, gesturing Dante to take it. His inner blacksmith squealed.

The blade itself was long and narrow with a flat top, and held a reflective chrome color so polished that Dante could see his mirror image perfectly. The handle was comprised of black leather strap that made its way down to a brilliant, shining sapphire at the bottom of the hilt. The guard was a square, bluish-tinted metal. The sword was gorgeous. He couldn't suppress a grin.

"Do you mind if I inspect it? You know.. for durability?" He asked. Liz shrieked, causing Dante to jump back. The sword clattered to the ground, having slipped out of his hands. His eyes worked up from the blade on the ground to Liz's face which was a mix of horror, confusion, and concern. He quickly waved his hands like white flags.

"It's ok! I just want to appraise it is all! It's not like I want to test it out or anything!" A nervous smile cracked onto his face. She looked at him a bit nervously, then sighed and picked up and handed over the blade again.

"Sorry, I had a customer recently who broke a sword just testing it out.." Dante noticed her eyes avert his again. His eyebrow arched as he pulled up his appraisal menu for the Luminaria.

"It was your masterpiece?"

"What?"

"The sword that was broken. The one that's supposed to be on that empty peg behind the counter. You were about to show it to me earlier, then remembered it had been broken. Am I right?"

Liz looked up at him with wide eyes that slowly closed as she nodded.

"And that's why you're sad? Because your best sword you ever forged was broken? I can understand that. I've smithed a few weapons in my time here too. You spend so much time and energy finding good materials and setting up the smithing process that you become attached to the blades. My friend Alastair still uses the blade I forged for him a few months ago when we were in a guild together."

Liz let out another sigh, then raised her bubblegum head as if to begin a long tale. Dante stood eagerly, intently awaiting whatever Liz had to say. She took a starting breath, but then stopped. Her eyes popped open slightly, and she looked at Dante again with renewed vigor.

"Wait, Alastair from the Knights of the Blood Oath?" Her voice sounded surprised, "I do business with him all the time. The sword that he uses is a Dragon Bone Longsword that you can only get the material for by defeating Gishnakh the Goblin King on a special quest on Floor 61."

"Yes, that's right.."

"In order to get that Dragon Bone ingot, a Master Smith has to be in your party. It's the game's way of preventing blacksmiths from paying people off to go pick up incredibly valuable forging materials, or from high powered players from withholding these materials from someone who can actually use them."

"Ok, still following."

"So if you really did forge that sword, it means that you're a Master Smith. And if you're a Master Smith, then you can forge almost whatever you want. AND if you can forge whatever you want then you didn't need a sword, which brings me back to _why were you outside my shop at two in the morning?_"

Dante looked at her, incredibly surprised. She looked back at him with hands on her hips and an inquisitive scowl forming on her face. Dante needed a fantastic answer. A perfect answer. The _right _answer. Taking a gulp, he started.

"Well Alastair spoke very highly of your work, and I decided to come check it out. And I must admit…" _Ok, turn on the smolder, "_ You're an even better smith than he described." He finished with a queasy smile. Liz looked at him in disbelief, then smiled back. Eons passed before she spoke… or so it felt to Dante. Dante held his breath.

"Well, thank you!"

Big exhale.

"I still don't believe you-"

Big inhale.

"-but i guess if you were a total creep you would've tried something by now. Plus Alastair is a good guy, so you can't be that bad!"

Big exhale.

Dante leaned against the wall, closing his eyes. He let out chuckle. _A hundred times I'd thought of how I'd go about talking to her for the first time, _he thought, _and not once did I think it'd go like this. _He looked back down at the appraisal menu. The makeup of the sword may have been even more impressive than the exterior.

"This is a brilliantly made sword… The stats are incredible, not to mention the +15 agility, stamina, and speed bonus from using a quicksilver ingot. It's not just light, it's actually a _fast _sword. It's a smart sword. If you're a speed type player, this is more than equipment. You can base your whole attack off of this blade."

"I'm a pretty good blacksmith, I know," She said mockingly. She looked for something to say as he swung the sword around a few times, different luminescent colors painting the walls with each swing.

"So.. You're a member of the Knights of the Blood Oath?"

He looked over at her, then shook his head.

"Nope."

"Oh, well it's just that you said that you and Alastair were in a guild together. I thought maybe you were in KBO with him and Asuna."

He looked up from the blade towards her. Frowning a bit, he looked up.

"No.. He and I used to be in a guild. The Silver Flags. We were small but everyone brought a different skill set to the table, and together we were a complete group. Alastair was our fearless leader,Ezekiel was our second in command and a complete tactical genius. I was our blacksmith, Jacob was the muscle. And Geoffrey was…" He trailed off. His fist was digging so deeply into itself, he saw just a sliver of the corner of his HP bar go down. He relaxed, however, at the sound of Liz's voice.

"Hey it's ok. You don't have to say anything more if it's upsetting to you..."

"No, it's fine," Dante said, continuing on, "He was my brother IRL. He was our money man. He was a genius, both here and in the real world. His Bargaining, Mercantile, and Persuasion skills were maxed out before the first year of the game was over. A little cold at times, but passionate about his trade. Together, The Silver Flags had so much ahead of them.." He closed his eyes, Geoffrey's face still imprinted there. _Dammit Dante keep it together, don't cry in front of her._ He slowly opened his eyes and looked straight ahead. The tears subsided, though the memory did not.

As if finally aware of the time, he heard Lisbeth let out a yawn. Dante exhaled again, then looked at her.

"Listen, it's getting-well it's already late. You get the idea. I'll sleep on the sword idea, and come back tomorrow and let you know, ok?" He said, standing straight and tall. Liz looked tired, but at his announcement her brow furrowed, looking almost disappointed in his decision. After a moment, her teasing grin returned.

"Ok, that's fine! But just so you know, normal store hours are from 10:00 AM till 6:00 PM. Try to make it in that time, ok?" Dante laughed, then smiled warmly.

"We'll see what happens! I'll see you tomorrow." Dante turned and headed for the door. He opened the door, but then felt a tug at his cloak again. He turned to face her. She extended her hand.

"I'm sorry, but in all the fun, I forgot to introduce myself! My name's Lisbeth!"

With a sheepish smile and a rub on the back of his neck, he shook her hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lisbeth. I'm Dante."

* * *

As the sun shined through his window, Dante sat up in his bed of the Black Horse Inn with a smile on his face. For the first time since February, Dante felt alive. The air seemed breathable, and worth the effort to capture. He had something to think about other than his own self-loathing. This moment had felt like months in the making. Well… it sort of had been.

He opened his menu. _9:59 AM… I suppose I can head on over now._

Popping out of bed, he walked out of the Inn and into the town square of Lindas. With the teleport plaza in the middle, it was much more compact than most other teleport squares Dante had been to. The square itself was about as busy as one would expect from a village of Lindas's size, with no more than 20 players walking through the market. As Dante donned his white cloak and headed down the main road, no one batted an eye at him. He had always liked that about this town.

As he sauntered lazily down the cobblestone path, he thought about the previous night, the active moment, and the future. _On one hand, I'm happy I get to see her again… But… I know this can't go on, _he thought to himself, _I'm finally ready to set off. I've been preparing for months for this.. I can't be distracted now..._

Lost in transcendent thought, he quickly found himself at the door of the shop once again. He went to open the door, but found it to be locked. _10:04… Where's Liz?_

After a short wait, the door opened from the inside. Liz's frenzied face was on the other side, and she relaxed slightly when she saw Dante looking back at her. He grinned.

"You know Liz, normal store hours are from 10:00 AM till 6:00PM."

"Oh shut your mouth, we had a customer keep the shop open late last night, and I couldn't sleep after that." She fired back playfully. He snickered a bit, then stepped inside after her. The Luminaria was lying on the counter, a polishing rag sitting next to it. _She… prepared it for me?_

"So, ready to buy the sword?"

"I am! I'm hoping it'll come in handy fairly soon. I'm about to leave on a big quest, so actually I was wondering if you could just double check all my armor too. I haven't been home to my anvil in a bit and I haven't had a chance to do some fine-tuning. I think it's in pretty good shape, I'd just like to get a second opinion." He said. Her eyes glowed along with her smile.

"Of course, come with me to the back and I'll we'll have a look!"

They walked into the back room of her shop, the fire from the furnace casting an orange filter on the whole room. A wave of familiar heat hit Dante's face. He felt at home in the smithy. Liz sat down at her work bench and got straight to examining his light chest armor, gently tapping it all over with her hammer. He sat down on a nearby stool.

"So, Dante, what's this big quest you're off on? You're not with the assault team I'm guessing; they haven't found the next boss yet. So where are you off to?"

Dante leaned back and thought carefully about how to respond.

"I'm..Well… It's not an in-game quest or anything… I'm looking for someone. I told you that I'd been in a guild, and I'm sure you realized that everyone in the guild except for me and Alastair died. Alastair seems to have moved on from their deaths, but I haven't.. I feel the need to avenge them. They deserved better."

Liz looked up.

"I'm so sorry… How did they die? I mean.. if you don't mind my asking."

Dante looked down.

"It's a bit of a complicated story."

Liz frowned, then handed him back his armor.

"Well then, you can tell me on the way!"

Dante clearly looked as confused as he felt, because she further elaborated after seeing his expression.

"I want to come with you on this quest. If an entire guild was killed, you're going to need backup. You seem crazy enough to try it on your own, but I'm not crazy enough to let you. So I'll be accompanying you in order to help keep you out of trouble!"

Dante frowned.

"Liz, I really appreciate that. I do. But I just met you. I can't ask you to risk your life just so that I can go bury the skeletons in my closet. Besides, it's more of a personal thing anyway. You've got no reason to come along."

"Too bad! I've made up my mind! Besides, I haven't been out of the shop in a while. I'm coming with you whether you want me to or not! Consider it your payment for the sword and the armor tune-up"

"What about the shop?"

"I've got enough gold, I'll survive a few days with the door locked."

"What about customer's orders? I'm sure a smith of your quality has a few orders out."

"Finished them all this morning! It's what took me so long to open the door."

"It's going to be dangerous, I wouldn't want to put you in danger."

"That's sweet, but I'm a master mace user. I can handle myself!"

Her tone was getting bolder, his becoming more faint. Dante let out an exasperated sigh.

"Are you always this persuasive?" He asked, finally conceding. She smiled broadly, and Dante made a mental note of how attractive her smile was.

"Your armor is fixed! I upgraded the mobility for you, too. Let me go grab my gear, I'll meet you out front!"

Dante walked to the front of the store and waited. _ I could just leave her here. I've already got my armor and I don't need the sword… Why am I waiting for her? _Though he had no answer, he didn't move. He waited. And when he saw her walk out with an armored sleeve covering half of her red skirt, he smiled. He didn't know why. It was as involuntary as the rhythmic beat of his heart. But there they were.

"Ready to go?"

She looked at him again, a playful grin spreading across her freckled cheeks.

"After you!"


	3. Stories of Old and New

**Sorry for the wait, I've been getting accustomed to my new college schedule. Thanks to any and all who've been reading! I love to hear any feedback I can get, so don't be shy to let me know what you think! Let's keep rolling ^_^**

**~A.A.**

As the early sun shone through the misty air on the Scandinavian island-themed level of Larvik, a gentle sea breeze whisked whimsically through the tall pines. The gentle crashing of waves on the shores of high white cliffs added a relaxing feel. Seagulls swirled over the seas in a spiraling cacophony of feathers and cawing, while from a distance Liz looked on with an amazed smile.

Unfortunately for Lisbeth the Blacksmith, the seagulls, waves, and wind were about the only sounds she'd heard since departing from her small, cozy shop of the 48th floor.

"So…?" Liz began slowly. After having traveled to the 44th floor, the silence in the party of Dante and Liz had been deafening. Liz took careful note of how focused Dante looked. The playful glimmer and soft smile had subsided, instead a blank stare occupying his features. Liz thought of a thousand questions to ask, but Dante's emanating solemnity held her back. Ending the silence, she figured, would be the first step.

"Yes..?" He looked back at her, his expression softening just slightly.

"So where exactly are we going? Besides the fact that we're on some mysterious grand quest, you've dragged me out to the middle of nowhere and I have no idea what we're doing or where we're going."

"First of all, I'd hardly say I dragged you. You basically dragged me," Dante said with a chuckle. His laugh brought a bit of relief to Liz. _Well, at least he's not a total lunatic._

"And besides that, I told you the jist of it already. Our quest has a few objectives before we dive head first into it. We're looking for someone, except I don't know where he is or where we can find him. But I heard that there's a quest in a cave somewhere here on the 44th floor. When you complete the quest, you get an item that can locate any player in the game. That's step one, and it's the only thing we need to worry about right now."

She looked over at him again. He seemed to be drifting back to the desert island in his mind. Liz pulled him back.

"Who exactly are we looking for?"

He stopped, his eyes darting back to her. Liz felt a cold wave of concern wash over her as the sea breeze rolled in. They stood beneath a large tree on a cliff overlooking the water. She watched as Dante slid down the bark of the tree, opening up his menu and producing two lunch bags. He extended the first to her.

"Let's take a break here for a bit."

She took the bag and a seat next to him on the tree. As they began eating, she looked over at him. _Still lost in another world.. what's his story?_

As if he could feel the interrogation going on in her head, Dante looked over at her.

"Liz… Before I answer your question, I want to you to answer one of my own." His eyes looked down at the ground, showing an expression Lisbeth was not familiar with. It looked to be thoughtful… but slightly more sad than that. Melancholy almost. _What's with you? One moment you're playful and charming and the next it's like you're on another planet..._ She focused again on the conversation.

"Ok."

"Why did you decide to come with me? Really, I mean. I'm assuming you don't just run off with any boy who walks into your shop looking for a sword."

Images of snow, a dragon, warmth, two hands, and falling shot all simultaneously through her mind.

Liz frantically laughed, "Yeah! Definitely not my usual thing! Not a big 'random adventure with smooth-talking boy' kind of girl." She could feel her cheeks heating up to match her pink hair. _Does he know Kirito? _She thought to herself, _He must've heard of him at least. _Dante's calm voice pulled her back this time.

"So? Why'd you come?"

"Well..." She had to think about how to appropriately answer. Again, an image of a boy in all black and a hand on top of hers flashed through her head. The warmth in her hand almost came flooding back like a gift from the past. A slight grin. The answer came to her.

"I guess you could say I'm looking for someone too... And I don't think I'll ever find them if I'm stuck behind a counter in Lindas. So here I am, trying to see if they're out there somewhere." Liz looked over at him again. Dante looked at her very seriously for a moment, then relaxed his face into a warm smile.

"I suppose that's as good a reason as any," He said matter-of-factly. Liz caught his eyes wander over to her again before taking a sip of water. She quickly looked down at her sandwich, letting her pink hair disguise her warming face. _What's with me? _

She looked back up.

"Alright, I answered your question. Now you answer mine!

His expression remained flat, but he frowned a little.

"I'm really not sure it's the right time or place for this conversation…"

_Oh no you don't. _"Hey! You said you'd tell me!"

"I will! Just not now… I'm in a little too good of a mood for this talk. I'm not good at forcing these sorts of life stories."

Liz stood up, clenching her hands into tight knots of fury.

"It's not a life story, I just want to know who I'm out here looking for! And if you're in a good mood, you could've fooled me, because you haven't spoken to me yet the whole time we've been out here! I might as well go home!"

She opened her inventory menu and produced a teleportation crystal.

"Teleport Li-"

"LISBETH WAIT!"

Liz stopped and looked at him. Dante had stood up, his hand stretched out towards her. She arched an eyebrow. His face looked panicked. She paused for a moment, then lowered the crystal. He sighed, then collapsed back by the tree.

She stood impatiently, a hand on her hip.

"I've… I'm… AGHH," He laid down on the ground, running his hand through his chocolate-brown hair. Liz looked him over once, then twice, then sighed. _At first I was mad.. now I just feel bad for the guy._

"Look, Dante," She began slowly, " It's ok. You don't want to get all worked up. I just want to know who we're after. I don't need to hear your whole backstory just to know why I'm out here with you."

He didn't react for a second, and then he sat up and looked at Liz with thoughtful eyes. _ His eyes are gorgeous… WAIT WHAT AM I SAYING?_

"I understand what you mean. It's just that… like… Liz, look, I need you to understand something about me."

She was looking at him intently now, her rapt attention solely on the boy sitting under the tree. He took another deep breath, then started again.

"With me, it's never a quick story. Everything is weaving in and out of one another, crossfading at the seams. I don't have any simple stories. Every tale I tell is just a chapter of a book that's constantly being written. I need you to understand that every story is a _part _ of my life story."

Liz sat down, still focused. Dante continued.

"With that said, I love telling people my story. But I won't just tell anyone with ears. It's how I come to trust people. The more I tell you, the more I trust you. Likewise, the more I trust you, the more I'm willing to say. And the more you tell me, the more I'm willing to give back. I have so many stories that I'm saving for the day that I find someone worth telling them all too. Liz…. you're not that person..."

She frowned and looked down. _Great, another one. At least I didn't get my hopes too high this time. You know, this is what I get for leavi- _suddenly, a hand on her shoulder. She looked up into gorgeous gleaming emerald eyes. Into a gentle smile that melted her disappointed frown right off of her freckled cheeks. Into a caring face that screamed for her face to care half as much. He spoke gently.

"But, I think you can become that person. You've certainly come closer than anyone in recent memory."

Liz stared. _Calm down, Liz. Breathe. Don't blush. He's looking right at you._ Dante chuckled lightly.

"And no pressure or anything, but I'm rooting for you."

She stared at him with wide, almost disbelieving eyes. Dante's smile fell upon her face like warm sunlight, and Liz could certainly feel her cheeks warm up in response. He patted her shoulder, then walked back to the cliff and opened up his map menu.

Liz lingered for a few moments. She felt a warmth bubble up inside of her. _It's not just my hand though… it's everywhere. More complete. _She looked again at Dante. Standing up, she walked over to him and looked over his shoulder at the map.

_Well… At least if things go well, Asuna can't steal this one._

* * *

After walking down a path carved into the cliffside, the two walked along the white sand beach. The waxing and waning of waves began to roughen, the ambient sounds turning into a crashing symphony. The sky had turned a dull grayish color. The winds whipped wickedly around Liz and Dante. Liz took concern.

"Where is this cave?!" She proclaimed, nearly shouting. Dante stopped and checked his map again. After opening up his inventory and producing a large crystal, he then looked up at the rock face. Standing a few meters away from him, Liz looked on as he muttered something under his breath, then shattered the crystal. The cliff rumbled slightly.

Liz looked at Dante, who wore a confused expression. She called out to him

"Did it work?"

"How should I know?"

"YOU DRAGGED ME HERE WITHOUT KNOWING IF THIS WOULD EVEN WORK?!"

"Liz, we've been over this: you dragged me"

"YOU'RE IMPOSSIBLE"

"I prefer 'highly improbable' if it's all the same to you"

He flashed her a smirk. Her face went red, though for an entirely different reason than usual. _He is going to be the death of me._

"DANTE YOU ID-" She was cut off by the sound of crashing rock. They looked at the cliffside, which was falling to pieces. Boulders tumbled off the rock face, barreling their way down to the beach. Liz froze.

"MOVE LIZ!"

She took a step back, but a falling rock pushed her forward. A smaller stone collided with her shoulder. She heard the familiar ding of her HP bar draining slightly. Another stone. Another ding. A bigger stone. She fell on the sand. Liz's head darted up to see a boulder falling at her.

"LIZ NO!"

Quickly, she raised her arm, a large shield materializing around it. She drew back her other hand, a spiked mace suddenly appearing there. She felt a pulse of energy as she lunged at the falling rock, and she let out a low growl as she swung her weapon into its side. The boulder cracked like glass, then shattered in a similar fashion.

Quickly crouching behind her shield, Liz rolled on the ground while pebbles rained down on the sand. She hopped away from the cliffside, then took a deep breath. She looked for Dante, who stood frozen in place, hopelessly mesmerized. She giggled.

"You look dumb just standing there like that!"

"I'm sorry, I just didn't realize I was bringing along one of the Valkyrie with me."

She kept her trademark smirk as she walked over to him. He pulled his hood from his head and looked at her, as if he was trying to figure out the trick.

"I may be a damsel, Dante, but I'm not in distress. I can handle myself!"

He stared at her for a few moments longer, then laughed. He gave a mocking salute.

"Yes m'am!"

Liz tried to stifle laughter, but failed. As they stood laughing in the sand, she noticed how happy he looked. _I like this 'him' better, _she thought.

Finally collecting themselves, they looked at the newly renovated cliff face. Two monolithic wooden doors now stood towering over the duo, a large wolf's head carved into the middle of each. Behind these wolf heads were etchings of fire and destruction, death and despair. Germanic runes lined the exterior. Liz glanced over at Dante. He was smiling. He looked back at her.

"Welcome to Hule Av Ulve, Lisbeth!" Dante proclaimed excitedly. Liz continued to stare at him, much less enthused.

"Hula what?"

"It roughly translates to "Cave of the Wolf" or possibly "Den of Wolves" or something along those lines."

"You speak german?"

"No, but I can read Norwegian. Or use the translator feature of our menu."

A very loud silence.

"... I don't like you very much."

"We'll see about that! C'mon, let's go see. There should be a shaman just inside who gives us the quest."

He scurried off to the door, weaving his way around the rocks. Liz slowly began after him with a sigh. _I take back what I thought earlier. Maybe he is a total lunatic._

"Wait up, Dante, you don't know what's in there yet!"

"I'm thinking it's a wolf!"

On cue, the doors crashed down. Dante leapt back, now standing next to Lisbeth. Standing before them was a gargantuan wolf of charcoal fur and gleaming yellow eyes that stood roughly 7 meters tall. It crouched low, growling and displaying an armory of sword-sharp teeth. Liz stumbled back. She looked over at Dante. She stared at him. _Is he.. smiling still?_

"Oh look at you!" He yelled. Liz stared in disbelief.

"...you're _actually _insane." She whispered.

"Fenris the Unbound!" Dante announced, eyes lighting up with excitement, "You have 3 health bars and a special attack once we get to the last one! Other than that, all you can do is bark and try to bite, little doggy!"

Liz became more unnerved. Fenris watched as Dante paced back and forth, continuing his monologue of taunting facts, its feral eyes carefully studying his every gesture.

"Unfortunately for you, Fenris, I happen to have brought along a special treat!"

Liz watched him open his menu, scroll a few times over, and then equip a weapon. As soon as the hatchet materialized in his hand, the giant wolf snarled. Dante held the axe above his head.

"The Axe of the Woodsman! I believe I heard a fairy tale about you and the woodsman having an altercation once. Something about a girl in a red cape or something like that. I digress! This axe has an active effect on it that provides a 2x multiplier for attacks on wolves or wolf bosses. To be honest, I never thought it would actually come in handy for that… But alas, here we are!"

Dante reared the weapon back, a bright purple light emanating from it. He looked towards Liz.

"Stay back. I've got this"

Liz began to protest, but her she flashed back to a field of crystals. To a dragon. To a black-cladded swordsman. She looked at Dante and nodded. He reared back and lunged forward at the beast. Fenris launched itself at Dante, still growling ferociously. The two ran head on at each other, two feral beasts in a war for supremacy. Fenris opened its jaw and leaned in to bite.

Dante slid under its gaping mouth and drove the axe into the wolf's neck. The creature let out a deafening howl as Liz watched its first health bar drop by half. Dante ran under its belly till he found his way to its tail. Taking his axe with two hands, it glowed a fluorescent green as he brought it crashing down, severing the tail. Another agonizing howl, and the beast turned around. The second half of its first HP bar emptied, then shattered.

Liz watched in awe as Dante danced around a bevy of attacks from the wolf. It almost seemed to be sport for him. Rolling, jumping, and occasionally even deflecting Fenris's attacks. _Even with that special attack bonus, his attacks are so strong. He's got to be a master axe wielder. I've never seen someone make a field boss like this look so easy to beat… Not even Kirito. _

Grabbing a tuft of fur, Dante climbed onto the giant wolf's back. He stood up and again raised his axe, a pulsing green light once again powering up. He hopped back off the wolf, and dragged his axe along the length of its leg. More than half its second HP bar depleted. It's leg hobbled, he cast a look over to Liz.

"You want to give this a shot?"

"You look like you've got things under control!"

Dante smiled, but didn't see the claw swipe out at him from behind. Liz, however, saw it in slow motion.

"DANTE LOOK OUT!"

He crashed into the sand, The Axe of the Woodsman flying off into the crashing waves just offshore. Fenris's HP had depleted to the final bar, and Liz found herself quickly noting its special attack. The wolf inhaled a giant gulp of air, it's chest swelling. Rearing up on two legs, it continued to suck in air until it was filled. She ran over to Dante, who was still lying down face first in the sand. She raised her them both, and braced herself. There was a moment of calm, terrifying silence.

And then, the wind hit. As strong as any weapon she'd felt, Fenris's Mighty Wind breath attack hammered her shield. She watched her health bar trickle away as she dug her boots deeper into the sand. She tucked herself into Dante's chest. _Please get up please get up please get up. _Liz activated a healing crystal on him, his health having dipped dangerously deep into yellow.

Finally, the wind stopped. She looked over the shield at the giant wolf in front of her. It looked back, eyes narrow and a sinister snarl reverberating from its throat. Though her legs were quaking, she stood tall. Leading with her shield, she charged. Following Dante's example, she dodged its first bite attempt, then bashed her steel mace right into the animal's eye. It's health fell just into the yellow range with an enraged growl. _I can do this! I can do this!_

She went to run under the beast, but felt a thunderous paw slap her back. Tumbling and turning, she felt herself crash into the water. She lost grip of her weapon during the flight, and her shield's durability had been reduced to near nothing. Reorienting herself, she tried to stand, but fell to her knees in the water. She looked up at Fenris, who was inhaling for another breath attack.

Liz tried to stand again, but this time fell on her side into the water. _Is this it? _She thought to herself, _Is this really how it ends? On a beach with some insane stranger? _She closed her eyes.

But the breath never came. She waited for a minute, then looked at the wolf, which had reared up even higher on its hind legs. It fell over on its back, having been knocked over. Liz's eyes darted to Dante, who was on one knee with a weapon in hand. Liz's eyes widened.

_Is that… a Bow and Arrow?_

Fenris lunged at Dante, teeth flaring and jaw gaping. Dante pulled an arrow back, then loosed it into the beast's mouth. Fenris stumbled back, its head shaking back and forth as it stood on wobbling feet. One leg gave out, then the whole creature came down with it. As its HP bar reduced to zero, Fenris gave one last whimper before shattering with the sound of broken glass.

Liz wobbled over Dante, who had now fallen over in the sand. She collapsed next to him. They both laid facing straight up, watching the cloudy sky break to reveal beams of prevailing sunlight. Dante turned his head towards Liz. Liz turned her head towards Dante.

"So… I'm an archer."

"And how did that happen?"

He smiled slightly.

"Ok, story time."


	4. The Arrows of Eros

Chapter 4: The Arrows of Eros

Dante looked down at his menu, lost in thought. _12:45… We'll only be gone an hour or two, and then we'll come right back up. No big deal. I'll be right back up to Lindas and I'll see her and final-_

A smack on the shoulders snapped him out of his self-induced trance. Ezekiel's wild grin leered over Dante's shoulder. Jacob was quickly on his other shoulder. Jacob's voice shot first.

"So what are you going to tell her when we get back?"

"Jacob I'm not going to talk about this"

Ezekiel's shrill voice came next.

"Did you even get her a gift?"

Dante's face flushed, and his voice raised a bit.

"None of your business!"

"Ohhhh did you make her something?"

"WAIT JACOB. WHAT IF HE _SMITHED HER SOMETHING_"

Dante's face burned even hotter. The terrible teasing tandem's eyes gleamed with deviant excitement.

"Is it a locket?"

"A ring?"

"No, it's probably something nerdy like a mace"

"That's dumb. Girls don't like maces, Dante."

"Is it pink to match her _beautiful_ hair?"

"I mean you do think she's beautiful, right?"

Dante gritted his teeth and took a deep breath. He turned to say something, but found that Alastair had already stepped in.

"Zeke, Jake: Leave him alone. Last I remember, neither of you have ever had a girl even look at you before in either Aincrad or IRL. It's a big day to him. Shut your mouth and know your role."

As Dante looked again at Alastair, he almost felt fear even being the beneficiary. A chill trickled slowly down his back. He noted how daunting the white cloak looked on Alastair, and how much space he seemed to occupy. Though of average height, Alastair was a strongly built person. Add that to his stoic expressions and his intimidating demeanor, and you can't help but admit that he was a born enforcer. He held a presence that demanded respect.

Zeke and Jacob shrank back and cowered. After a second or so, Alastair looked back at Dante with a warm smile. Dante felt his stress ease away. It was the flip side of the coin. Alastair was kind, and open-minded. He wanted to work with people towards a goal, and had a good sense of judgement. He was a natural leader. He demanded respect, but always gave it back. Dante always felt at ease with Alastair around. The Silver Flags had potential with Alastair at the helm.

"Th-Thanks… I mean it wasn't that bad. They're always like that." Dante squeaked. Alastair walked over put his hand on Dante's shoulder. Dante sighed. _He's as cliche as ever…_

"It's no problem. You've got more than enough on your mind as it stands. Let's go see what your brother has to say and then get back up to Lindas as quick as we can, alright?"

Dante nodded. He turned around, and opened his inventory again. As they stepped onto the coast of the great sea of Floor 38, he took a deep breath to drown out the chatter or Ezekiel and Jacob. He focused again on his own thoughts.

_It's 12:52 on February 14, 2024. Valentine's Day. No big deal._

* * *

The long, sprawling hills that dominated the landlocked portion of the 38th floor of Aincrad made for a gorgeous setting. With Greek inspired architecture, the main town was a sizable metropolis placed directly on the coast and had a hefty population of players. Half of the map was dedicated to the ocean. Off the coast some way, there was the Island of the Gods. Its twelve temples had to be cleared in order to advance to the Floor Boss when the players had first arrived. When the main game clearers came through, Dante was still a merchant in the Town of Beginnings. Much had changed since then.

Now, he stood on a boat as a level 68 player, Master Smith, and Expert Sword Thrower. With a guild of similarly strong players, Dante felt at ease. He was able to enjoy the expansive world of Sword Art Online just a little bit more. Taking in a breath of sea-salt scented air, he looked at the city on the coast. He noticed an unusual amount of boats leaving the docks.

"Hey, what's with all the boats leaving the city?"

"I heard a rumor that there's a special Valentine's Day quest this year," Jacob responded, "No one knows anything other than that it's supposed to happen on a lower level and that the reward is a high-level weapon or something."

Dante looked over at Jacob. His dark eyes sparkled as he looked over the water. Having had to take two boats, Dante noted how tame Jacob was without Ezekiel by his side. The two were constantly with each other. As far as Dante had come to concern himself, they were single entity. Seeing Jacob alone was almost depressing.

"How long have you and Zeke known each other? I mean… were you two this close back in the real world?"

Jacob's head shot around, then settled again into a thoughtful expression. Scratching his chin, he thought.

"Uhh… Pretty much since getting to Japan for the internship program at Argus I think. We briefly met back home in the States when we found out we'd be roommates during our time here. But excluding that, I'd say… 3 years now?"

Dante nodded, "So I guess that's how you met my brother?"

"Yep. He was our third roommate. He never really said much," Jacob let out a nervous chuckle, then continued, "I always got the feeling he didn't like us all that much. He always looked so angry. Turns out he's just got one of those "I'll-murder-you-in-your-sleep" type of faces!"

Dante laughed. _It's true, he's pretty intimidating. _He briefly ran his hand over the scar under his left eye. He couldn't actually feel it, not like he could in the real world. But tracing his fingers over it brought back a flood of memories. His brother, a game… and an open fire. Geoffrey's face crystalised in his mind. Dante shuttered.

"He's not much of a people person, I admit. But he cares. He wouldn't have helped me stay alive if he were a complete loner. He'd be a solo player, just like that Black Swordsman lunatic."

Jacob shrugged, then looked back out at the water. Parallel to their ship was a similarly sized vessel, two figures sitting with white cloaks. Jacob's gaze seemed fixed on it. The rhythmic _spa-loosh _of the NPC rowing the boat sauntered lazily through Dante's ears. Dante wondered, if only for a moment, whether the weather in the real world was ever actually this nice. Jacob's voice snapped him back.

"Maybe so. But Beaters like Geoff and that Kiri-whatever guy are usually loners in the real world and here in Aincrad. You can't change who a person is just by putting them in a video game. Dumb is still dumb, lonely is still lonely."

Dante thought about that for a second. _Well.. what does that make me?_

Jacob dipped his hand in the water, and a few Ula Fish jumped alongside the automated boat.

"But, of course, he's still with us and he's a great asset. I think if it weren't for you, he'd've left the guild by now. He knows us, but you're his only priority in this game. He's committed to getting you out alive."

Dante looked up towards the sky. It was a reassuring thought to know that he was of importance to someone in some reality. The quiet thoughts of spoiled complacency that Dante had fought hard to subdue snuck quietly into his head. They spoke low, but with conviction, their voices deep, but alluring.

_I like this…_ He leaned back along the railing of the ship, drooping his head over the edge, and closed his eyes.

_All of this…_The very tips of his spiked-up coffee hair slipped beneath the waves, floating as freely as his mind. Waves brushed gently against his scalp. Tired arms relaxed at his side.

_It's nice… _His thoughts floated on the backs of the waves to an undisturbed hamlet called Lindas. He watched himself knock on the door of a weapons shop, flowers and a little box in hand. A smile in his dream snuck onto his face as the door opened to freckled, pink face. He offered his gifts, her smile glowing with his smile growing.

_Wouldn't it just be so pretty to think so…_

And then, with a resounding THUD, Dante was returned from his daydream. Picking his dangling head up from over the edge, Dante reoriented himself and realized they were on the beach. Jacob had already hopped out, gone to greet Alastair and Zeke.

Dante slowly rose up from the boat and trotted down the beach after his guild. The ends of his white cloak stirred up sand as he stepped slowly across the shore, the artificial afternoon sun beating down from high above. He reached into his pocket and produced a box. He ran his thumb over it, then checked the time.

_2:10… Still ok on time… might be better if its at night anyways. Girls like that, right? Yeah, definitely. Totally. Nighttime is way more romantic. OK, sweet. This is still a good day._

* * *

"These empty ruins are creepy as hell."

"Not as creepy as the way Dante stalks blacksmith girl."

Dante was learning to tune out the continuous banter of Zeke and Jacob fairly well.

"Yeah but still. I don't like this. Did Geoff seriously have to meet these guys at the very end of the labyrinth?"

Alastair turned, then ended all conversation.

"Shut your mouths. Keep your eyes open."

As they walked through ruins of Ancient Greek temples, Dante remembered studying the Ancient Greeks in school.

_If only my professor could see this now… _ Dante's eyes drifted among the fallen stones and undergrowth before a glint caught his eye. He focused in and pointed.

"Hey, what's that?"

His party turned, locating the shining object inside of one of the more complete looking temples. The shadows hid the outline, but the reflection of some mysterious light shone directly at Dante. He felt compelled by it. He took a step forward before Alastair's bellowing voice rang out.

"Watch it. We don't know what's in there, Dante."

"It's ok. I'm just going to check it out…" Dante trailed off, entranced by the object. He took a few more steps before identifying the outline of a Special Loot Chest. His eyes lit up. Of the many variety of loot chests in the Game of Death, this was the most rare. Found mostly in upper-level dungeons or in the lairs of conquered field bosses, the Special Loot Chest always contained a Unique Item that was either of a high level or of high value. Its distinctive silver coating and jeweled lock drove Dante yet another step closer.

"It's a Special Loot Chest! Guys I found a Special Loot Chest!"

He jogged over to the temple, Jacob and Zeke now wrestling one another to get a closer look. Dante ran into the temple and took a look at the chest. The jewels were Pink Pearls in the shape of a heart. It dawned on Dante at that moment. He looked up at the temple he was now inside of.

"Guys…"

Dante vaguely remembered hearing that when the Floor Clearers came through the Island of the Gods, the Temple of Love was suspiciously empty. No matter how many times adventurers had come back to the Temple, it was always clear. And yet on Valentine's day, there was a Special Loot Chest with a lock of jewels like a heart…

And a rumor of a special quest.

Alastair walked in the building right as Zeke tapped on the chest's item menu. Dante screamed.

"NO ZEKE!"

The chest opened.

An alarm sounded.

The doors slammed shut.

The ceiling opened as a shadow descended upon them. At first, all Dante saw was a large statue. Though as his eyes focused in, he realized the statue was moving. Two stone wings protruded from robustly toned shoulders, a quiver of arrows slung between them. The stone statue figure wasn't enormous, but at about twice the size of a player it was still a sight for Dante to behold. A name popped up beside 3 health bars. Dante muttered to himself.

"The Love God, Eros..."

Dante noted the honorific "The" at the beginning of the name. A cool shiver shimmied up his spine. A lone bead of sweat rolled past his eye.

_This is a boss fight… We're in a boss fight… WE'RE MIDLEVEL PLAYERS IN A BOSS FIGHT… WHY?!_

Panic began to set into Dante as the statue's stone wings beat down on the air. Time became slowed, sound became muted. Dante's mind was filled with the static buzz of a thousand different fight or flight responses all clamoring for supremacy.

He looked over at Jacob, who was frantically shouting with a blue crystal in his hand. Nothing happened.

_Of course it's not working… We're going to die here... This is it… _

Dante's emerald eyes worked back to the statue. He watched it float for a second, then equip its bow and draw an arrow. Eros's cold, lifeless eyes focused in on Dante. The silent screaming in his head became louder.

_MOVE._

_MOVE. _

_MOVE._

"MOVE YOU IDIOT GET DOWN"

Dante hit the ground with a thud. Alastair's voice broke through to his head as he watched an arrow whizz through the end of his cloak. He looked into cool grey eyes staring directly into him. He heard the words, but didn't process them.

"You need to focus or you're going to die."

Static.

"You need to get it together or your brother is never going to see you again."

Static.

"And if you don't, Liz is going to end up spending today alone. All thanks to your inability to GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER AND FOCUS."

Finally, the right channel.

Dante shot up and equipped his throwing knives. He ran for cover behind a large nearby rock, Alastair following swiftly behind him. Dante's breath was shaky, and his trembling fingers made the equipped knives clatter. He had overcome the shock… though the fear still surfed through his veins on a wave of adrenaline. He looked over at Alastair, whose placid expression had still not faded.

"What do we do?!"

Alastair looked over the rock for a moment, then sank back down slowly.

"Well, it's a flying boss. Most land when you've done enough damage to them or after a certain period of time, so we can do the bulk of our damage then."

The grey eyes looked over again, their soothing effect still active.

"You're our best sword thrower by a longshot. I need you to take forward on this until it lands. Then we can switch out. I'll keep him off you… I need you to do this Dante. You can't fail, or else there is a very high probability that we all die here. Ok?"

Dante nodded quickly, then focused.

He activated his Trifecta Throwing Sword Skill, then popped up from behind the rock and threw three knives at the stone figure with a brilliant flash of blue. Two found their mark perfectly on the figure's chest. The third flew right past its head. Eros's first HP bar dipped to yellow. Dante took a deep breath as he slid behind a large pillar.

_It must not have a very high defense rating… But then what's the catch?_

He peeked past the column to see Zeke throwing a spear at the boss while Jacob held a shield in front as a cover. Eros dodged the missile and then unloaded an arrow before Dante could register that the bow was even drawn. The arrow hit Jacob's shield, and subsequently shattered it on impact. The duo were thrown back by the force of the shot, their HP bars draining.

Dante took a breath as he equipped another set of knives.

_Low defense, high speed, high attack, high agility. Takes damage easily but doesn't get hit easily. Take your time… focus… make each throw count…_

He ran out from his cover, equipping his first knife with his Slinger skill. A trail of crimson light tailed the knife as it flew right past Eros's wing. The stone boss turned right as another two knives flew at it, one clipping a wing while the other pressed deeply into its arm. The first HP bar shattered, and the second dissolved slightly. He finished by throwing his last two knives using his Double Tap skill, but Eros easily dodged those while drawing his bow.

_Dammit! Three misses!_

Dante ran full speed around the room to another cover spot. He heard a loud grunt from Alastair. His shield, too, had been pierced by the stone archer's arrows.

_We won't hold out like this… It's a war of attrition and he's inevitably going to win… He's doing so much damage in a single attack and I'm wasting so many knives. I only have thre-_

Suddenly, an arrow.

It struck his midsection with train-like force, flinging him on the ground like a ragdoll. His HP dropped instantly to yellow. Though he could not feel pain, Dante's whole abdomen went numb. A sickening sensation flushed through him as he looked down and saw the arrow protruding from just below his ribs. He gasped.

He crawled over to his hiding rock. Opening his inventory, he produced an HP serum and began to frantically suck from it. His bar refilled to about midway through green.

Dante poked his head just above the stone, but saw only stone eyes fixed on his position. The statue had positioned himself above the center of the round room, firing all around him like an automatic turret. He pulled his head down just in time to avoid an arrow.

_He hasn't come down yet! Does he just fly forever?!_

*Ding ding ding*

_If it never comes down from flight, then we've got to treat it like a normal opponent but with ranged attacks! _

Still crouching from behind the rock, he shouted through his quaking voice.

"Zeke! Jacob! Alastair! We need to all attack it with ranged attacks at once!"

He heard no response. He opened his inventory and equipped the last of his throwing knives. His breath was ragged, but he continued to shout.

"Guys! I need you to trust me! We can beat this thing right here but we've got to go all out on one attack! I just need you to buy me a distraction so I can finish him!"

Still no response. He peeked his eyes over his cover to see Eros relentlessly firing at a rock across the room. The statue turned to Dante, firing an arrow before he ducked once again.

"GUYS! I'm going to count to three! Then I'm going to attack him! When I do, wait for just a second while he switches to attack me, then hit him with whatever you've got!"

_You don't know if this is going to might be dead. Or think you're crazy._

"One!"

_What're you going to do if they don't attack with you?You might just die right here._

"Two!"

A deep breath_...Please have my back on this guys._

"THREE!"

He sprang out, firing his first knife. It landed right in the back of Eros. His health bar shrank to about 50%. Dante sidestepped an arrow, then began a run straight ahead at the statue. A moment later, the rest of the Silver Flags jumped from cover and threw an assortment of weapons at the floating boss.

Eros did not shift views from Dante, who continued his charge. It fired an arrow that landed on Dante's knee. Dante continued his run.

As axes and spears rained down upon him, Eros's second HP bar finally gave way to the third and final one. The statue continued to ignore the new attackers and fired again at Dante. Dante danced around the shot and drew back his last two knives, one in each hand.

Zeke threw a spear using his Javelin Sword Skill. It punched a clean hole through the stone, Eros's HP draining to about 60%. The knives in Dante's hand shimmered a bright red as he closed in on his target.

Suddenly, another arrow.

Dante briefly looked over to see his left hand, still clutching its throwing knife, being detached from his arm while geometric polygons of bright red "blood" splashed all about. Dante's focus, however was on Eros.

_I've got him! He's vulnerable!_

He flung his final knife while diving at Eros using his Headshot Sword Skill. The knife whistled past the statue's outstretched arms and landed square between the eyes. The Sword Skill offers a 3x attack multiplier if, as the name implies, a headshot is achieved on the throw. The knife found its mark, and Eros fell to the ground with a crystalline shatter.

Dante, lying on the ground, received a notification on his display.

**Congratulations! You've reached Level 70!**

He chuckled weakly.

_Sweet Jesus I never want to do that again. _

"Dante! DANTE WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU WERE A KNIFE THROWING BADASS!"

Dante struggled to sit up, his HP bar flashing on the lower end of red. The voices of congratulations were all a blur to him. He sat staring at his arm, now flat at the end

_Soooo… does this grow back or what? Is my hand dead in real life? How does this work?_

Alastair's voice broke through to him again.

"It'll grow back in three minutes. No worries, it happens to me plenty. Weird feeling right?"

Dante broke into a hearty laugh. The smiling faces and warm voices around him warmed Dante. He felt accomplished. He felt recognized. Dante smiled as he realized that he was enjoying himself truly. _This really is a good day, _he thought quietly.

Another notification popped up in front of him. It was the item pickup menu for a monster drop. His eyes glided over the words on his screen.

_Wait, what?_

Once more. Twice more.

"Guys, look at this…"

Jacob, Zeke, and Alastair all peered over his shoulder. Their eyes widened as they read the words displayed there.

**Item: **

**Unique Ability Crystal: Archery**

_**Player receives Unique Ability 003: Archery.**_

**Accept?**

**Yes (X) No**

* * *

Dante looked over at Liz again, her pink eyes focused on him. The crashing waves of Larvik had settled into a quiet, steady tide. As they sat side by side in the sand, he waited patiently for any sort of reaction to his story (Of course, without mention of all the Valentine's Day plans for Liz. Those parts had been carefully omitted).

Finally, she sighed.

"I guess you got the bow and arrow thing somehow. But you didn't finish the story!"

He turned his head and gave a funny, confused face. She giggled slightly, but went on.

"You still haven't told me about your brother! Like, where was he during all of this? Shouldn't he have been close by?"

Dante stood up and dusted sand off of himself. She peered up at him, a curious expression occupying her face.

_I swear: if she makes another cute face, I'm going to lose it._

He teasingly wagged his finger at her.

"Nah-ah! No spoilers! This is a 'To Be Continued'!"

She made a pouting face, her freckles peaking over the edges of a frown.

_I'm going to lose it._

He held out his hand to her, her pout subsiding and giving way to an open smile. Dante smiled warmly back at her.

"C'mon, let's go talk to this shaman, get our tracking item and get out of here. I'm starved, and I know a great restaurant in Selmburg that we can go to after this."

Liz looked at him for a second longer, then took his hand and stood up. They shared a nervous laugh, then proceeded down the beach to the shaman in the cliffside.

It was not until they had departed from Larvik that Dante realized he had still not let go of her hand.

_It's ok… I mean, she hasn't exactly let go either._


End file.
